Mazda Raceway Laguna-Seca
So this is probably one of the last motorsports events I'll be covering in 2009. It's damn near wintertime already! Back to my favorite spot to shoot, Mazda Raceway at Laguna-Seca. These guys take care of you. I was unable to receive a photo vest (again) and was a bit disappointed. Nevertheless, work with what you've got. Arrived at the track around 630am, having not slept the night before and ran around the paddock grabbing early morning team shots. There's a thing I love being at a racetrack early while it's still quiet, a light mist is still hanging in the air and all the race cars are slowly coming to life. That and the smell of race fuel.
Where to start. It's the last in the 2009 series for the American LeMans Series. I was hoping that Audi and Peugot would be in attendance to battle it out, but as the economy is going bizerk, Audi pulled out of the 2009 season. There would be a few races ran this weekend. Met a cool guy, Andrie Hartanto racing in the Speed World Challenge in the touring class. Insaneo tuned TSX going up against factory backed Real Time Acura TSX's. Grassroots racing at its finest. There would also be the Star Mazda race, kind of open wheel racing. And then the American LeMans Series which had 4 classes, the GT1 and GT2 and the LMP1 and LMP2.
All weekend I saw nothing but talent. If you haven't seen the Corkscrew at Laguna-Seca, its a sharp corner and a straight drop. Requires balls. Big Ones. And these drivers had them. I'll continue a write up later on. Here are the pictures for now.
Shot with :
Nikon D200
Nikon D80
Sigma 100-300 f/4
Tokina 12-24 f/4
SB600
Starbucks venti iced white mocha
Footjoy extra thick socks
Gil deFerran takes a moment to himself. This would be the last race of his career, a fitting end to one of the most celebrated and winningest drivers in motorsport. Big congrats to him as he took the win this weekend.
Team deFerran unveils their special paint scheme on the Acura. The historic cars that took deFerran to victory in years past were also on display. Gil deFerran will continue managing his racing team.
Media and fans surround the deFerran unveiling ceremony.
Parade lap for deFerran and the historic racecars.
Mazda Raceway Laguna-Seca is awesome for fans as the paddock is just wide open. You can walk in and out of staging areas and get up close and personal with the cars as well as the mechanics and teams.
Yokohama sponsored Panoz
Porsche GT3 Cup
Lowe's sponsored Acura gets a push after being safety checked by IMSA officials.
Corkscrew claims another one.
Exits the corner too hot and pushes out wide into the gravel.
Real Time Racing's TSX, 5 in total, battle it out at the top of the Corkscrew.
Gil deFerran takes the Corkscrew
Classic battle between an F430 and GT3
Raw American muscle.
The BMW factory backed M3 LeMans Racers
Turbo'd NSX running in the Speed World Challenge GT Class
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